Wow so much has happened since my last blog post! Well to start off, I went to my first ever rugby game with all the other kids from my program and it was a blast! We got there a bit early and was able to get seats in the second row of “the Zoo” which is what the locals call the student section of the Forsyth Bar Stadium. We got so much free stuff like Highlanders flags and noise makers. Highlanders is the local rugby team by the way. The game was so exciting and dare I say better than American football?
A group of friends and I also went to a place called Tunnel Beach shown in the picture above. It was an incredible sight! The bus ride and the hike down to the beach was not bad at all and the views were breathtaking, as is all the views here in New Zealand. We all sat by at the edge of the cliffs and had some lunch out there while watching gigantic waves crash into the rocks.
This past Monday, I went on my first field trip for my Marine Science class. We hopped on the university’s research vessel and learned about all the cool instruments that marine scientists use. We went all the down to the tip of the Otago Peninsula to collect seawater samples and the weather was spectacular. It got me really excited for all the rest of the field trips that I have the opportunity to go on for this class.
Just yesterday, I went to the STEEPEST STREET IN THE WORLD for the Cadbury festival Jaffa races. Basically, tens of thousands of these balls of candy get rolled down this super steep street and a lot, if not all of the proceeds of the even goes to charity! We even picked up some of the candy of the street to eat. When in New Zealand right? Later that same day, a big group of us rode on down to the peninsula to hike up Harbour Cone. There was great views of both sides of the peninsula and sheep galore. Definitely one of my steepest climbs to date considering I live in Florida, but it was so worth it. Next weekend I believe I’ll be heading down to Nugget Point to hopefully see some seals and penguins and the weekend after that, I’ll be going to Queenstown the “adventure capital of the world” which I’m super stoked for!